David neilson



(Specimens.) D. N. MELVIN.

MANUFACTURE OF FLOOR OIL GLOTHS. No. 330,254. Patented Nov. 10, 1885.

ZQZ Z IL63SQS. [nugn Z UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID NEILSON MELVIN, OF LINOLEUMVILLE, NEW YORK.

MANUFACTUREOF FLOOR OIL-CLOTHS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 330,254, dated November10, 1885.

Application filed April 6, 1885. Serial No. 161,341. (Specimens) To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID NEILSON MELVIN, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, residing at Linoleumville, in the county of Richmond andState of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in theManuacture of Floor Oil-Cloths, more particularly applicableto those oilcloths known as Kamptulicon, Linoleum, Gorticine, Lignum, and thoseincluded in Letters Patent granted to me January 31,1882,No.252,891,=andwhich are generally formed of a semi-plastic material composed ofpulverized cork or other similar elastic substance cemented together andspread into a sheet; and I do declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of my invention, which will enable othersskilled in the art to which it apperteins to make and use the same.

Heretofore the pattern or design has been printed on the surface offloor oil-cloths with blocks or rollers having the desired patternraised upon them in relief, the paints used being stiff, and ofsufficient hardness, when dry, to resist the action of the feet inwalking upon them; but being above the general level of the body orground of the cloth, the paints are first exposed to abrasion, andshortly they become blurred and unsightly, long before the body of thecloth is materially affected by use.

The object of this invention is to insure protection to the pattern ordesign impressed upon floor oil-cloths from the wear and disfign rementincident to their use as floor-coverings. I accomplish this byimpressing upon the face of the cloth indentations corresponding withthe design to be shown on the face of the cloth, and into these saidindentations paint is printed with blocks in the usual way, and whendried and finished the face of the cloth presents a uniformly fiatsurface for wear. The body of the cloth, being raised level with or veryslightly above the painted portions, sustains the pressure of the foot,and both the body of the cloth and the painted portions Wear equally,preserving the design intact until the cloth becomes Worn out.

To carry my invention into effect I use a block or die made of metal, onwhich the whole of the design, including all the colors, is raised inrelief to a height sufficient for my purpose. This in most cases is notmore than one-sixteenth of an inch. This block or die is made hollow,and supplied with steam by a flexible hose or other well-known means; orit may be heated in any other way, so as to keep it at a temperature ofabout 212 Fahrenheit. I then impress this die, when hot, upon the faceof the floor-cloth by a press, and so indent the required design intothe surface fora depth equal to the height of the relief on the die. Theusual printing-blocks are then used to fill up these indentations withpaint of the required colors to complete the pattern. The cloth is thendried in the usual way, and any desired finish may be given to the face.I do not specify any special machinery, and it is obvious that rollersmay be used to indent and print in place of blocks; but I prefer to usethe latter, as they can be constructed more conveniently.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a section considerablyenlarged of a piece of linoleum. Fig. 2 is a plan of the surface,showing the design or pattern.

The same letters refer to the same both figures.

a a represent the canvas back on which the body I) b b is spread. c c care the indentations, and d d d the color or paint filling theindentations.

Having fully described my invention, what I consider as new, and desireto claim and secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A floor oil-cloth in which the body substance of the clot-h is levelwith or slightly raised above the surface of the printed design,substantially as described.

2. A floor oil-cloth with indentations on the surface filled with paintand constituting the pattern or design, as described.

3. A linoleum or other floor-covering of the same class having thecolors of the pattern or design inlaid in an indented surface,substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The process of indenting the pattern or design into floor oilclothsbefore printing, and then filling the indentations with paint, asdescribed.

parts in DAVID NEILSON MELVIN.

